Tuesday, January 12, 2021

Overlooked Movies: The Sapphires (2012)


I’d never heard of this movie until a friend of mine mentioned it favorably, but it has Chris O’Dowd in it and he’s great in THE IT CROWD and GET SHORTY, so I figured it might be worth watching. Turns out, it definitely is.

Set mostly in the Sixties, THE SAPPHIRES is the story of three aborginal sisters and their cousin who form a singing group in Australia, wind up with a washed-up musician (O’Dowd) as their manager, switch from country and western to soul music, and get a job entertaining American troops in Vietnam. Comedy, tragedy, and romance ensue.

The plot of this movie is fairly predictable, but fine acting and great music elevate it into a well above average film. O’Dowd is wonderful, as usual, in a sad sack but good-hearted role, and the Australian actresses playing the Sapphires are all excellent. This is a heart-warming movie, but not in a mawkish sense. I really enjoyed it and give it a high recommendation.

1 comment:

Jeff Meyerson said...

Yes, very good one. It was based on a play that was loosely based on a true story, though the O'Dowd character was added. But the group was real.